Lover's Quarrel
by bookworm-gurl
Summary: Sequel to "Love at First Sight" - Catherine and Sara are to be wed soon, that is if Catherine could ever forgive Sara for a horrible mistake. Maybe a case of a cliff side jumper out at Lake Mead is exactly what's needed to rekindle to remind her why they're getting married, and then some...
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:** A fem slash of Catherine and Sara is something I have not posted on this site in a long time…I hope you all enjoy the comedy/drama/adventure and maybe even steamy scenes of our two femme fatale's.

Please R&amp;R and I will return the favour when I get the chance! Thank-you!

PS: I am working on this for Camp NaNoWriMo, so expect updates fairly shortly. Also, I am always open to suggestions for direction, character development etc.

**BoOkwOrM-gUrl**

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**Lover's Quarrel**

Like every other Graveyard shift, Catherine and Sara arrived at the lave fifteen minutes before there shift. Since their relationship had become public knowledge, there was no point in skirting around formalities at the lab. There was still little to no affection between them happening in the walls of the Las Vegas Crime Lab but, the charade of them having to take separate vehicles to the office everyday was long gone. Except for today, the further they could be from one another the better. Before tonight it would be hard to sell the fact that the "Honeymoon Phase" of their relationship would ever end, however from the moment they both walked in through the front doors, you would have never believed they were a couple.

Judy, the five foot nothing, curly blonde hair lady who worked reception for the Las Vegas Police Department, noticed it first. She literally shuttered while pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and caught the iced glare from Catherine and puppy dog sad eyes of Sara following behind her. Obviously looking for forgiveness over something, and it appeared to be something big. Judy, who was usually a personable and friendly person to every single person who walked through the front door, or the men and women in uniform who passed by her desk every day, knew to keep her distance from the two women.

It was not the first time that Judy had seen Catherine this steaming mad. There were two other times. The first was a few years back, when Catherine discovered her now ex-husband Eddie ad cheated on her with another woman, in their own bed with Lindsey asleep for her afternoon nap in the next room. The second, was when Eddie stormed into the lab halls, demanding to see Catherine, the stench of beer and cigarettes on his breath was so strong that Judy could still remember it clearly in her mind. Before Judy could even react he was gone, stomping down the halls screaming Catherine's name, searching for her with his fists clenched as if he was ready to put it through the wall. He had found her, confronted her in front of the other lab techs and was ready to strike before Mr. Grissom stepped in and intervened before he threw the first blow. It has almost been eight years since that incident happened, eight years since Catherine had given that glare.

It was no secret that she and Sara were an item, and if anything Judy was glad that Sara and Catherine had something to look forward to beside their jobs. Before their relationship became common watercooler talk among the lab rats, many had suspected Catherine was batting for the other team. Some were jealous, especially since for the longest time, Catherine was one of only a handful of female criminalists on the labs payroll. Also, it was a known fact that before she joined the "Geek Squad" as the Detectives like to call it, Catherine worked at the French Palace as an exotic dancer. She may have aged in numbers since then but, her body, beauty and snappy attitude were just the same. It wasn't until some of the more, attractive, men roaming the halls were getting reject did the rumors begin. They were only finally proven after Sara Sidle came to town.

A two week internal investigation into the death of Holly Gribbs, a rookie who was shot and killed while processing a scene, turned into an indefinite stay for Sara thanks in large part to Catherine. Sara and Gil, who at the time was the supervisor of the Graveyard Shift, were old friends. Sara had attended some of his lectures in Los Angeles on entomology that fascinated her and got her involved in Forensics. They had kept in touch since, and he knew she was the best to handle an investigation of this magnitude. He offered her a full time position once the Holly Gribb case was closed which she accepted right away, without a moment's hesitation not because of the pay increase, or fresh location, but instead one new thing that Las Vegas had to offer that LA would never have; Catherine.

They worked the Holly case together, which spurred a relationship to blossom. It was a short amount of time but, in the midst of the two weeks that Sara was there in the lab, she and Catherine got to know each other on both a personal and professional level, almost to the point where it felt like they had known each other for months instead of days. Gil believed that this relationship that had blossomed between them to be strictly a professional one. It was not until six months did they come clean about being romantically involved with one another. Now, almost a year follow Holly's death, they were talking of getting married in two months' time.

That was if this fight did not put an end to that.

Catherine broke stride, leaving Sara in her proverbial dust as she brushed shoulders with Warrick who was just emerging from the locker rooms. He stepped to the side, raising his arms in the air as if he were surrender to allow his colleague to pass by. Warrick knew he had seen the look in Catherine's eyes before; when Eddie did something to ear himself another night in the doghouse.

Warrick nodded at Sara as she approached him, defeat deep in her brown eyes that were encircled by dark bags she was wearing from the lack of sleep, and not because of double time shifts at the lab. There was not enough concealer in the world to cover up those marks.

"Trouble in paradise?" Warrick snickered, his green eyes sparkling at the whiff of office drama that just stumbled into his lap. Sara should count her lucky stars that it was him and not Greg or worse, Hodges that came out of the locker room.

"You could say that," Sara sighed, jumping at the sudden slam of a locker knowing it was Catherine.

Warrick sucked in his breath, "I'm not one to get in the middle of office drama, but whatever you did to piss Catherine off you'd better think of a great way to make it up to her. The last time I saw her this pissed off was when Eddie cheated on her."

Sara scowled, hating the reminder that her fiancée was at one time, happily married to a man who treated her no better than a piece of garbage. It softened the blow a bit the know how much of a jerk he was however, it also how hurt and miserable she was but kept going for the sake of their daughter Lindsey. It made Sara feel a bit better to know that after the first year of marriage, Catherine no longer loved Eddie, and the only good thing that came from their marriage was their now ten year old daughter.

"Sadly, what I did is probably worse than that."

Warrick rose an eyebrow, "Worse than cheating?"

Sara looked over her shoulder, making sure no one with big loose lips was around, ready and poised to overhear the office gossip and use it to suck up to Grissom while running his trace results.

"I forgot our Anniversary." She whispered, feeling ashamed and like the worst person, let alone worst finance, in the world.

Warrick squirmed as if he had just witnessed a horrendous car crash on the interstate, "Yeah that will keep you in the dog house for a while." Warrick rested his hand on her shoulder, "Good luck Sidle." He chided and walked away.

"Gee, thanks." She muttered under her breath before turning and pushing open the door to the locker room when it collided with something hard. Sara made a silent prayer that that was anything besides her pissed off lover.

"Son of a bitch!" Someone squealed, as Sara's heart sunk even lower knowing she was now dead meat.

She pushed open the door further seeing the glaring nostrils of her fiancée as a goose egg was forming on her temple. It was now official that this shift has gone from bad to worst. Sara was speechless, fearing that a laugh she was trying so hard to keep contained, would leave her lips the moment she made a noise.

Catherine stepped to the side as Sara entered, trying to reach out and touch her forehead that she could already feel was swelling. Not was her fiancée only forgetful of the one day a year that is important to her but she also was now injuring her. She swatted Sara's hand away way beyond the point of just seeing red at this moment.

"Cath, I-I'm so sorry." Sara muttered.

"I don't need your haphazard first-aid." Catherine snarled, stepping away from Sara and the doorway to the locker room before heading to the back where the women's washroom was situated.

Sara desperately wanted to follow but knew better of it. Instead, she approached her locker that was situated next to Catherine's. She tried to tune out the sweating and sighting that was coming from behind the washroom door as she hung up her purse and coat. Sara grabbed her service pistol and strapped it to her hip, loving the familiar feel of the weight on her side. It was not usual for her to leave her weapon in her locker but, the last week she had been pulling double, sometimes triple shifts, and her mind was barely able to comprehend food let alone weapons and sadly, anniversaries. She also threw her id badge on over her neck and gave herself a once-over in the mirror held by magnets to her locker door. She was disgusted by the large bags under her eyes, and pale, almost deathly shade of her complexion. Less than two hours of sleep due to screaming, fighting and tears, tends to show very well on a person. Thankfully, last night Lindsey had spent a night at her friends and did not have to witness her mother and soon to be other mother fighting like little children.

She hoped that confronting the dragon head on would be better than anything else. Catherine was in a sour mood when she arrived and now there was no telling how high her temper was going to rise. Sara sighed, slamming her locker door shut and proceeded into the women's washroom. She leaned her head against the tiled wall as she watched Catherine's reflection in the mirror seeing the pure hatred in her eyes and scowl on her lips.

"Are we going to stay like this forever now? One of us pissed off at the world while the other tried to think of creative ways to apologize?" Sara stated, her eyes trying not to focus on the large goose egg that was forming on her fiancée's that she was attempting to cover with her bangs.

Catherine sighed, leaning over the vanity and closing her eyes trying to control the rage beast within. "You hurt me Sara, I mean, really hurt me."

"I know and I'm sorry, it was an accident."

Catherine opened her eyes wide, "An accident! You call forgetting our Anniversary just, an accident!" She shrieked, "You are treating this as if you were just involved in a fender bender or took someone else's coat at a party. Does this relationship we have mean anything to you?!"

Sara could feel a headache coming on as she opened her eyes, still having her deafening tone echo in her ears. "I, uh, I thought you meant the door." Sara whispered sheepishly, feeling a blush creep across her cheeks.

_Great job Sidle, I'm going to become the 419 Grissom reads out at assignments. _

Catherine swung around, fire blazing in her ice blue eyes. She was just exasperated at how clueless Sara was being about this whole situation. Sleep deprivation and stress of work can only take this so far, now they were entering a territory where this was becoming more and more like a plot to a rom-com movie. How was it that the woman she loved, the woman she vowed to marry in less than six months could be as dense as a concrete brick? Granted, Sara was six years younger than her and maybe she was just not mature enough, or experienced enough in relationships to know that what she thinks as being innocent and clueless is actually hurtful.

"Un-fucking-believable!" Catherine yelled, throwing the soggy, wet paper towels she had in her hand in Sara's face and stormed out of the women's washroom, heading back towards the hall. "We're going to be late for assignments." She called over her shoulder before slamming the locker room door shut behind her.

Sara wiped the mushy paper towel from her face and tossed it in the garbage bin next to her, afraid to admit the soothing feeling of cold water against her heated cheeks. She knew better than to chase after Catherine now. It was quite clear that everything she was saying or doing to make this situation better was, in reality, making it much worse. Sara went over to the vanity grabbing some dry paper towels from the dispenser and looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her complexion was still pale and the large circles that were under her eyes were only magnified under the bright lights of the vanity. Her lips were dry and cracked, like the Nevada desert as she patted the water dripping from her chin with the paper towel in her hand. Before she went to join Catherine and the rest of the team in the break room, Sara took a long, deep breath, trying to focus and clear her head that was more cluttered than a hoarder's home.

"Come on Sidle, chin up, shoulders back, just get through this shift, think of something perfect to give Cat to make up for this massive disaster you created and everything will once again be back on track." Sara stated, giving herself a pep talk before turning away from the mirror.

She tossed her used paper towels in the garbage bin and making her way to the break room.

When Sara approached the glass walls to the break room she could already see that everyone was already assembled like good little soldier ants awaiting their next round of commands from the Queen. Grissom was even there already, which was a surprise since he was always notorious for being either late or forgetting altogether that he needed to give out assignments at the beginning of shift. She eyed Catherine at the kitchen table in the middle of the room. She was mindlessly flipping through an out of date fashion magazine, not involved whatsoever in the playful banter happening between Warrick and Nick on the couch to her left.

Sara exhaled a deep breath while she turned the corner of the hall, grabbing the metal handle for the break room door and pushing it open with her shoulder, the familiar sucking sound of the glass door opening filling the almost silent room. She nervously smiled, trying to mask her tardiness that was very unusual for Sara to begin with and stood against the right hand wall, keeping a safe distance from everyone. She met Warrick's gaze as he was moving his eyes between her and Catherine, taking note of the distance between the two lovers as Nick was still yammering on about last night's football game. She just shook her head no to indicate to Warrick that he needed to keep his trap shut about her little confession a few minutes ago.

Gil turned around, moving his reading glasses down the bridge of his nose to notice that Sara had now joined them in the break room. He grabbed his coffee from the machine, cupping a stack of manila folders under his left arm as he gave a curt nod to Sara, his only acknowledgement of Sara being late as she returned the favor. He placed his steaming mug down on the table, along with the stack of folders, not phasing Catherine for even a moment as she continued to flip mindlessly through the fashion magazine in front of her. She did not even look up and meet eyes with Gil.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get down to business." Gil announced, eyeing Sara once more over the rim of his glasses where she sheepishly smiled in apology in return.

"Nick, you have a 419 at the Stratosphere. Seems like someone had a little too much fun at the top of the world."

"Great, a solo." Nick stated, hoping up from the couch and snatching the assignment slip out of his boss's hands. He was like a child on Christmas morning, his eyes glowing bright and a smile on his lips. Since being made a CSI Level 3 only nine months ago, this was only his fourth solo case.

"Yes, however keep me in the loop, it sounds like this case could become political."

"You got it boss," he called over his shoulder as he left the break room, winking at Sara as he passed.

She rolled her eyes, knowing that Nick was suddenly trying to pick her up. It did not matter that she and Catherine were due to get married in six months, Nick had his eye on Sara ever since she decided to join the Vegas team permanently. No matter how many times she had declined his subtle, and sometimes not so subtle hints, he always made a point to wink or smile just a little too wide in her direction. Sara hoped that Nick witnessing Catherine and her exchanging vows on an altar in front of a minister in six months' time would be enough proof that he had no chance in hell with her. That was of course, assuming the wedding was still going to take place to begin with.

"Warrick, you have a 417 in Henderson. I am going to work this one with you, the victim is Hotel and Casino Tycoon Paul Swanson. He owns the Stardust, among other high stakes properties on the Strip. This one could get messy fast." Gil explained handing the assignment and the stack of folders off to Warrick.

"What's with all the paper work?" Warrick asked.

"This Mr. Swanson, appears to be one familiar face in our databases. These are all the cases with his in direct or direct involvement over the past year, could come in handy depending on what we find out in Henderson."

"Gotcha, meet you at the Tahoe in ten." Warrick turned and nodded at Sara as he passed by, heading out of the break room once more.

Sara watched her boss, seeing the wheels in his brain turning now that it was only the three of them. He was trying to deduce the reason to why they were as far as humanly possible from one another in the break room when usually they were sitting together at the table, or on the couch, smiling and enjoying each other's company. Something had happened, it did not take a genius to figure that out, and however he was not one for getting involved in people's personal lives. He was not a people person, never was and probably never will be, so sitting down and having a heart-to-heart like a normal supervisor would was out of the question.

Catherine was still flipping through her magazine, not even missing a beat for the whole time he was talking, tuning everything out that was not applicable to her and Sara, she barely made eye contact with either Catherine or himself since she stepped foot into the break room. Gil knew about their relationship, he was actually the first person they decided to tell, wanting to make sure that their personal life choices would not compromise Sara getting hired full time at the Vegas Crime Lab. He did not even need to second guess his choice in allowing them to stay romantically involved while working the same shifts, knowing that this was exactly what they both needed and they promised they would not let personal problems and issues get in the way of their jobs. It was evident that whatever this was, it was not being checked at the door.

"Cath, am I interrupting your very intriguing reading time?" Gil asked, trying to get a rise out of Catherine first.

He had known her for years, almost twenty years in three months from now. He had seen her get married, have a baby, get cheated on and survive one of the worst relationships that Gil had even known the intimate details about. They were best friends, more than colleagues and he had known she was as lesbian for five years before Sara had showed up to handle the Internal Investigation for the Holly Gribb's case, a case that is still fresh in all their minds.

Catherine looked up from the year old Vogue she had in front of her and looked Gil hard in the eye, the red inflamed skin of the bruise on her temple was showing beneath her bangs. She could see Gil looking at it intently wondering how she got that injury, trying to solve the case with what little evidence was put in front of him. She did not have time or the patience to be treated like a China doll, or coddled like a child, all she wanted to know was if there was a case for her to work this evening or if she was going to be confined to the lab for the shift.

"Do you have something for me Gil, or can I return to the riveting world of pastels." Catherine snapped, her back to Sara who was standing next to the break room door, ready to escape the moment her boss gave her the go ahead.

"I do actually, a floater out at Lake Mead," Gil stated, dangling the assignment slip in front of her as if it were a juicy steak in front of a starving dog.

Catherine reached out to grab it when he pulled back, eyeing Sara against the wall seeing the hurt in her eyes and the discomfort in her posture, as if she was not comfortable in her own skin. "However, you're going to need back up and the only CSI I can spare is Sara."

Gil watched as all the muscles tightened in Sara, knowing that, that was probably the last thing she wanted to hear this shift. Catherine's eyes widened with hatred as she snatched the paper out of her bosses hands so fast that she actually gave him a paper cut on his fingers. She got out of her chair, turned and looked at Sara, glaring at her without uttering a word before pushing open the break room door and storming out of the room.

Sara was about to turn and follow after her knowing that Catherine will not enjoy being late to their scene because her fiancée could not follow her like a lost puppy. "Sara." Gil called as he sucked the blood off his finger from the paper cut Catherine just administered.

She stopped, turning to see her boss was approaching her with his cup of coffee in his hands.

"Do, do you want to tell me what's going on between you and Catherine?"

"Not really, it's personal Gil." Sara stated, feeling her cheeks beginning to burn from humiliation.

"I know it's personal, which is what concerns me the most. We had a deal Sara, the drama of home stays at home." Gil stated, sipping his coffee.

"I know, and I'm sorry, we'll keep it contained on this case. I promise."

"Don't make me regret my decision Sara. I enjoy seeing you happy, both of you, and you make a great team, I'd hate to break it up because of some little tiff."

_If only you knew the half of it Gil_ Sara thought as she smiled and nodded before ducking out the door and back to her locker to grab her kit.

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T.B.C


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note:** A fem slash of Catherine and Sara is something I have not posted on this site in a long time…I hope you all enjoy the comedy/drama/adventure and maybe even steamy scenes of our two femme fatale's.

Please R&amp;R and I will return the favour when I get the chance! Thank-you!

PS: I am working on this for Camp NaNoWriMo, so expect updates fairly shortly. Also, I am always open to suggestions for direction, character development etc.

**B.**

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**Lover's Quarrel**

**Chapter Two**

Catherine slammed her locker do shut once again out of frustration. How could Gil pair her up with Sara, after it was quite evident in the break room that she had nothing to do with her or anyone else for that matter this evening. She grabbed her kit, quickly checking to make sure everything was stocked, seeing numerous evidence bags, and piles of rubber gloves. All her fingerprint powders were in order as she looked at the red one; red creeper was what Gil liked to call it, it was his own concoction, since he clearly had no social life. She tested her flashlight, checked the batteries on her camera before snapping the clamps shut and heading back out into the hall almost running straight into Greg who was on his way back to his lab.

"Hey what's the rush there Cat?" Greg asked with a smirk.

"Not now Greg." She snapped.

He gave puppy dog eyes, which looked out of place with his frosted tip, spiked hair and dimpled smile. Catherine knew the young DNA lab rat had a thing for her, he was trying to jump into her pants ever since he found out she used to be an exotic dancer at the French Palace before she turned in her stiletto's for cheek swabs. When it became common knowledge that Catherine batted for the other team it only fueled the fire and made him try his luck at living his college, high school and current fantasy of two women at once. No matter how often, or sweet he asked, it was never going to happen.

"Nice goose egg," Greg stated pointing to the swollen bump peeking out from behind her bangs.

"Drop dead."

"Meeoow! Kitties got claws today!" Greg said with a growl and slashing movement with his hands before continuing on his way towards his lab.

Catherine sighed as she turned, almost bumping into Sara who was standing in the middle of the hallway, field kit in hand and a sheepish smile on her lips. It sucked that she was so attractive, that all Catherine could think about right now was kissing those pouty, rose lips even if she was beyond furious with her.

"Uh, sorry, are you ready?" Sara muttered stepping aside as Catherine bounded past her silent and furious, "Well, I guess I will take that as a yes." She muttered under her breath and followed suit.

They remained silent, passing Judy once more to go out to the parking lot where their Tahoe's were parked and ready. Judy looked up from her computer screen to see the same scowl on Catherine's lips and same apologetic look on Sara's face as they had when they walked through those doors no more than an hour ago.

Catherine briskly took point towards her Tahoe, tossing her field kit in the trunk allowing Sara just enough time to add hers' in their as well before she slammed the metal door down, narrowly missing her fingers. She looked up at Sara and shrugged as if she were trying to apologize for the near miss before turning on her heel and heading to the driver's door. Sara just sighed, and quickly hoped in the passenger seat before Catherine took off without her, or worse, ran her over in the parking lot.

"Catherine, we need to talk." Sara prompted.

Catherine just ignored Sara as she turned on the engine and backed out of her parking spot, narrowly missing a nice swipe of metal on metal with Sara's parked Tahoe next to her. The gesture was not missed by Sara as she quickly did up her seat belt, unsure of what exactly her fiancée was capable of behind the wheel.

"What, is your plan to just keep giving me the silent treatment? How very mature of you."

They approached a red light at the intersection to Blue Diamond Road and Tropicana Blvd with ample amount of time to break cautiously. Instead, Catherine slammed hard on the break as Sara flew forward, her head bouncing off the dash in front of her with a smack. Catherine smirked, proud that Sara was now sporting her own goose egg.

"What the hell!" Sara yelled, rubbing her now throbbing temple.

"Sorry, touchy breaks I guess." Catherine chided as she continued on down the road.

Sara was steaming, now knowing that Catherine was not only pissed off but ready to get even, and if there was one thing she knew about her fiancée was that she always loved getting even. She bit her tongue, not wanting to instigate her any more while being locked up in a tin box with someone who has a personality that is close to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and turned to look out the window, watching the lights of the Strip fade away as they got further away from civilization and headed out on the dark, bleak highway heading towards Lake Mead. It was almost like living in a horror movie, where she was being lured into the woods by a murderer and will become the next case for her fellow CSI's to investigate.

The last time she was out to Lake Mead with Catherine was almost a year ago, when she figured that a nice picnic out by the lake would be a great surprise, a great way to unwind and escape the insanity of their work week at the time and it was, it was exactly what they both needed. The lake looked quite different in daylight as opposed to moonlight, with people on boats enjoying the day as waves rippled in the lake behind them. They found a nice, quiet and secluded place under a large fern tree, set out a plaid blanket and laid out plates, cutlery and two glasses paired with a beautiful red wine from California. It was romantic, giving them a great glimpse into their future as lovers.

It was also the point when Sara decided to take their relationship to the next level, to make it even more official than roses, chocolates and endless amounts of great sex. She pulled out a small ring box, grabbed Catherine's hands that were always so soft and smelt like lavender, it was intoxicating and always calmed Sara down as she caressed her skin and gave massages to work the kinks out of her shoulders after a long, hard shift. She poured her heart out, telling Catherine that their relationship was the best thing that had happened to her since she moved from San Francisco.

She could never forget the look on Catherine's face when she popped open the ring box and proposed to her, with the Nevada sun setting in the backdrop. It was beautiful, and the fact that she started to cry, her eyes glistening with tears as she nodded, not able to say any words but her kiss spoke volumes. It was amazing, fireworks exploded in her mind, mimicking that of a cheesy rom com moving plot between two horny teenagers, but she knew this was far from fake. Her love was real, her commitment was real, and the fact that she forgot all about that, about the exact reasons why she was in love with Catherine to begin with, what persevered her to become her wife, was something she will never, ever reverse.

"We're here." Catherine stated snapping Sara out of her trip down memory lane.

The familiar sight of red and blue emergency lights flickering across the windshield made the harsh reality of why they were out in the woods to begin with ring true once more. Catherine slowly approached the three police cruisers and Coroners van that was blocking the crime scene a few feet ahead. She parked the truck off to the side, knowing that they were the last to arrive and the last to leave.

"Cat, listen, before we go out there, can we please talk about what's been going on." Sara said, placing her hand on her shoulder to stop her from just avoiding the conversation.

Catherine looked down at Sara's hand on her shoulder, her look was that of a raging, starving wolf that would chew off her hand if she had fangs and bloodlust. "Let's just get this shift over with Sidle." Catherine snapped as she opened her door and shrugged Sara's hand off her shoulder.

Sara sighed again as she pushed open her door and stepped down feeling the ground mush under her dress shoes. She grabbed her flashlight and shined it down on the ground noticing she was almost ankle deep in caramel coloured mud. The whole truck was surrounded by it, deep and moist from the most recent rainfall out here that was less than twenty-four hours ago.

"Just perfect." She muttered as she rounded the Tahoe, grabbing her case out of the back.

Catherine looked down at Sara's feet and snickered before taking off towards the crime scene. Sara followed behind, in no rush to keep up with Catherine knowing that anything she does will not get Catherine to just take a few moments to talk like mature adults. It appears she has been taking some lessons from her ten year old daughter on argument tactics.

"Hey O'Riley, what do we got?" Catherine asked as the First Officer lifted the Crime Scene tape, allowing Catherine, closely followed by Sara.

The older, overweight Detective turned around, his forehead wet with sweat from all the overhead lights and the humidity in the air. He grabbed a handkerchief from his hand and padded his forehead as he nodded at both Catherine and Sara.

"Cat, Sara. We have a male DB about thirty years old and thirty feet down the hill." O'Riley stated as they walked towards the edge of the cliff they were standing on.

Catherine and Sara took a look down, seeing David the Coroners assistant hovering over the body that is flooded by large, emergency grade lights. There was a rope attached to the side of the cliff they would use to get down there and see what they had to work with. Grissom conveniently left out the part about this being a recovery mission. No one beyond the body and David were brave, or dumb, enough to make the trek down to the water's edge.

Sara whistled between her teeth, "Hell of a long way down, who called it in?" She asked.

"A patrol boat that was making the rounds on the lake spotted him about two hours ago, they never went any further than two feet from shore. At first they thought he was a drunk kid passed out after a night of partying down by the lake but, when they saw him all, contorted, they knew something horrible had happened and called us." O'Riley explained, looking cautiously over the cliff side, his cheeks were going pale and he seemed to be sweating profusely once more.

"You okay there?"

"Just don't like heights Cat. Knock yourselves out, and be careful heading down, don't make this a triple." He joked as he walked away from the CSI's.

Sara looked down once more, studying the position of the body. His left leg was bent, almost behind his body as his right one had the ankle bone breaking the skin. His left arm was up over his head as if he was waving Hello to them from down below. His skull, or what was left of it, was bashed so bad it looked almost caved in and he was on his back, looking up at the night sky with wide open, dead eyes. It was clear he had taken a tumble from up above and there would be evidence of him up here, and all along this cliff side down to his final resting place. The biggest question was, was this an accident or a murder.

Catherine looked over at Sara and suddenly feeling less angry at the brunette. She looked beautiful, even if the wind was whipping her hair around in all directions and her feet were caked in mud. She shook her head, trying to not fall into the trap of just forgiving Sara for the horrible, unforgivable mistake she pulled two nights ago and extended her arm out to the rope ladder.

"After you," She chided with a smirk.

Sara pushed back her hair, getting irritated with it blowing in front of her eyes every second she was standing on the cliff, her wind breaker with the large, white, reflective letters "CSI" billowing, making her look like she had a large hunchback. She looked down, straight down this time and felt a bit light headed. Heights were not her strong suit but for Catherine, they were out of the question. Once when she had booked a dinner at the Stratosphere tower they had to cut it short because Catherine was hyperventilating at how high up she was. At the time Sara did not know of her lover's perpetual fear of heights and she thought she could be tough and make it through dinner especially since they were in an enclosed, spacious area. It was actually quite amazing that at this moment, Catherine was standing as close as she was to the edge.

As much as Sara did not want to go down there, someone had to go work the scene from below with David and it would be a lot less bitching and whining if she just did it.

"No problem, and hey, I'm proud of you." Sara said as she stepped out cautiously, grabbing the rope with her free hand and using her heavy Crime Scene Kit as a counter weight in the other.

"Proud?" Catherine said questionably.

"Yeah, for facing your fear of heights. I'll radio you when I find something."

With that Sara turned and smiled, knowing that she was finally seeing the frosty exterior of Catherine thaw as she began her descent down the cliff side. She kept a tight grip on the rope, so tight she was afraid that the rope was going to burn her skin, taking each step lightly. She kept her eyes focused on the group, looking out for roots, stumps, rocks, anything that could send her tumbling head first down there and joining their DB at the bottom. After a few feet she stopped, taking a breath as she noticed something flickering a couple inches to her left. Curiosity was getting the better of her as she took out her flashlight and shone it in that general direction catching the plastic case of a cellphone. There was a good chance that belonged to their victim.

Sara put her Crime Scene kit down on a ledge jutting out from the side, extracting a pair of gloves, an evidence bag and her camera she slung on over her neck. Keeping the flashlight in her left hand she let go of the rope that was her security blanket and focused on the beam from her flashlight, stepping on solid group and avoiding any all obstacles in her path. When she reached the location of the phone she was also pleasantly surprised to see a man's brown leather wallet beside it and a set of car keys. It looked like whatever was in their DB's pockets had spilled out during his tumble.

"Looks like I found an ID!" She called up as she shone the light on the picture on the driver's license. He was attractive, if she was into guys that was, "Ryan Mercer, age 35, a local. He only lives ten minutes from here."

"I'll have one of my guys check it out." O'Riley called from above as he jotted down his notes.

She photographed the evidence, bagged it and made her way back towards her kit and the rope following the exact same path she used to get there. After packing it up once more she continued on down the hillside, confident in her choice and knowing that Catherine was shitting bricks up at the top watching this whole scene unfold. Even if she was made at her, there was no denying the fact that butterflies still fluttered and her heart pounded when someone she cared about was risking their lives.

Sara could see David clearly hovering over the body sticking what looked to be a large meat thermometer into his gut where his liver was. He was trying to get an accurate liver temperature to calculate how long their mystery man had been down here. Instead of focusing on her feet like she had been for the last twenty feet down Sara was concentrating on David when she miss stepped, tripping over a root that was above the ground. Her legs gave out on her as she fell on her ass, sliding down the slick embankment, her hand searing from a rope burn as she let go hoping to brace herself with her feet on a rock just up ahead. It was only a few feet she slid, and thankfully not head first, before coming to an abrupt stop as her feet pushed against a large bolder jutting up out of the ground.

She must have screamed because David was looking at her, his eyes large and complexion ashen wondering if his colleague and friend was going to be next on his metal slab. After a moment to catch her breath Sara slowly stood up, inspecting her field kit seeing everything was still secured which she was grateful for. Another thing she was grateful for was wearing dark pants, that hid the wet, mud stain she could feel clinging to the fabric of her pants and she knew the back of her wind breaker would have a nice, caramel stain on it just like her shoes.

"Sara! Are you okay!" Catherine's panic voice filled the cliff side as she just watched her finance slide down a hillside.

Sara turned around now that she was no longer on a steep incline and wiped her face, feeling mud streak her cheek. She looked up at Catherine who was flushed and panicked and waved. "I'm alright!" She called back and smiled to reassure Catherine that everything was fine.

When she saw the relief wash over Catherine she then heard her tempered voice fill the radio she had clipped to her waist, "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" as Sara couldn't help but giggle.

"Have a nice trip Sidle?" David's voice came from behind as Sara turned acknowledging the young ME.

He had just joined the Las Vegas Department a week or so after Sara, and at first, he was trying to pick her up just like all other men. When she stated her distaste in him it was in how he approached her not what he said, and if she was into guys, she would have gone for him if he just tweaked his approach.

"What have you got so far David?" She asked, ignoring the young man's jab at her not so graceful entrance to the Crime Scene.

She thought Ryan Mercer looked bad from afar yet, up close and personal he was a wreck. His face was basically that of raw hamburger meat, his nose was skinned off and jaw broken. His face was caved in to look like a deflated football with tuffs of blonde hair missing from his scalp as he bounced his way off of rocks and roots. He had a rib on his left side jutting out from impact, cloths ripped and bloodied. He had tan lines on his ring finger and left wrist where a watch would have been. Possibly he was robbed before taking a tumble.

"His liver temp was 85.7 degrees, which means he has been dead for approx. 6 hours. He's dressed in beach wear, maybe he was enjoying a day at Lake Mead before he was murdered."

"Murdered?" Sara asked as she stopped snapping pictures of the body.

David raised up what remained of Ryan's t-shirt and pointed a large in sized wound on his abdomen that was at least 2 inches wide. "He was stabbed by something sharp, maybe a Swiss Army knife."

Sara snapped a few photographs, "You're certain this was not caused by the fall?"

"Fairly certain, I will know more back at autopsy but, on first blush it looks like our DB was stabbed and then possibly pushed or stumbled off the cliff and landed down here like this."

"Well, if that's the case, Catherine will hopefully find the murder weapon topside." She unclipped her radio and pressed the button, "Hey, David thinks we are looking for a murder weapon, more specifically a knife." She stated.

"Well Super Dave might be onto something here, I found a bloody Swiss Army knife up here about three feet from the cliff side with a mess of shoe prints, signaling a struggle." Catherine's voice crackled over the radio.

Sara looked at Ryan's feet noticing one shoe was still on and the other was probably somewhere on the cliff side that would be like looking for a needle in a hay stack at night. "Are any of the prints smooth, like from a worn out beach sandal?"

"Yeah actually, look to be about a men's size eight. The other is for sure a running shoe of some sort, again looks men's size eight. I'm going to cast an impression, the sand looks like it gave me great detail to work with."

"Our DB could very well be that sandal, he's looks to be about a size eight." Sara looked up at David and smiled, seeing him blush as he was jotting down notes on his pad, "Looks like David might be onto something."

* * *

T.B.C


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note:** A fem slash of Catherine and Sara is something I have not posted on this site in a long time…I hope you all enjoy the comedy/drama/adventure and maybe even steamy scenes of our two femme fatale's.

Please R&amp;R and I will return the favour when I get the chance! Thank-you!

**B.**

* * *

**Lover's Quarrel**

**Chapter Three**

After four hours of combing the beach where Ryan had landed Sara had not come up with any more evidence to add to her finds on the cliff side. There were no foot prints leading to the body except for hers and David's, which matched the story the patrol boat who spotted him stated to O'Riley. Also, if Sara was following her theory of him getting robbed that had to of happened up top side. Her theory at the moment was that Ryan was out here to enjoy a day at the lake to cool off from the Vegas heat. He was approached by an unknown male who robbed him of his wedding ring and watch at knife point. An altercation ensued between the two men based on the foot prints and blood splatter Catherine was able to collect before Ryan was stabbed and then was either pushed or stumbled over the cliff and landed contorted face up at the bottom to be spotted by patrollers five hours later.

With the evidence she currently had at her disposal, that theory sounded plausible. The location they were at was quite secluded, a perfect place that a local man such as Ryan would know about and enjoy without tourists climbing all over him. One thing was bothering her though, she looked at his wallet and in there was credit cards and even some cash, if Ryan was robbed, then why did the robber not take his wallet and cellphone along with the jewelry? It was a piece of the puzzle that did not fit but soon enough the evidence would speak for itself.

David and the body had gone about an hour ago. The cliff was too steep to lug the body back up the way it came so the patrol boat came back, hauled the body on a stretcher and David off to the main land where a patrol brought David his van, helped him load the body up and headed back into town to begin his more extensive examination of the body. On his first blush they were able to put together a sound theory, and collect specific evidence so the hope was that out of the autopsy they would be able to determine if insult to injury was added and Ryan was not only robbed and stabbed but then pushed off the cliff.

"Hey, I'm making my way back up." Sara called into the radio as she packed up her kit once more the sound of the waves from Lake Mead lapping up against the beach was soothing, almost making Sara forget about all the personal drama that was happening between her and Catherine. Almost.

"Okay, I'll see you up top." Catherine replied, her voice sounding weary and exhausted.

Sara made the ascent once more as the heat from another day beginning was slowly seeping in through her dry and muddied wind breaker. The sun was going to be rising in less than an hour, marking almost an end to another shift that was going to result in a double since some of this evidence needed to be processed ASAP. The cliff side was a dry bed of grass and dirt now that the mud from the rain they had three hours before getting the call to this scene had dried up. She used her good hand, the one that was not singed from rope burn to climb back up, using the rope as support and finding the navigation of the cliff side a lot easier in the early morning rays. When she reached the top Sara noticed that most, if not all the Police cruisers were gone, O'Riley left hours ago and Catherine was just finishing tagging some evidence over by a large oak tree.

Sara took a moment to study the view from above in the breaking dawn. It was gorgeous as she noticed the jutting out cliffs on the other side of the lake, the water glistening from the sun's reflection as it was calm, the wind a lot less stronger than it was when they got here over six hours ago. It was breath taking and as much as she loved to be one with nature, she had to give kudos to Ryan for finding such a beautiful, serene place to hang out and eventually meet his demise. She then looked over at Catherine who was hunched over her writing pad, her blonde locks blowing in the slight breeze. She was concentrating on the evidence log, her eyes covered by her sun glasses now that the sun was peeking out behind the breaking clouds and the goose egg on her forehead even more prominent under her bangs. Everything was perfect until Sara had to be reminded of the stupidity that lead them here in the first place.

"Hey," She stated, walking over to Catherine.

She looked up and smiled, a real smile, the first one she had done since they left home yesterday. It melted Sara's heart to see her lover's façade dwindling. "Hey, man you look like hell." She quipped, studying Sara from head to toe with matching bump on her forehead from the car antics on the way to the scene.

"Well, sorry to say this but, the same could be said for you."

Catherine stood, feeling the cramps in her legs from kneeling and crouching for most of this shift work its way through her aging body. She closed her evidence log, picked up her field kit and followed Sara back to the Crime Scene tape that was still being guarded by the first officer on scene. He looked no older than twenty-five, fresh from the Academy and also looking like he needed a fresh cup of coffee. Since what happened with Holly Gribbs almost a year ago, the enforcement of an officer staying at the scene with the CSI's until they were finished processing was mandatory and if not followed to the letter could result in suspension or termination. There was no way the department was not going to have any more dead lab techs on their watch.

"You can go home now Officer Reynolds, we're done here." Catherine stated putting her hand on the young man's shoulder with a smile.

"Thank-you Mme." He stated with a curt nod and Southern Accent as he lifted the Crime Scene tape to allow them to exit before taking it down, releasing the scene back to the public.

Sara and Catherine walked back to their Tahoe that was a few feet up the road from Officer Reynolds who was more than happy to be getting in his cruiser and getting the hell out of nowheresville sooner rather than later. Catherine popped the trunk as she slipped her field kit and evidence bags inside, Sara doing the same as she spotted a fresh jump suit neatly folded in the back of the trunk.

"Damn, I didn't know you had that. I could have used that as opposed to getting my actual clothes all muddy." Sara stated as she reached for the jump suit.

"I will be honest Sara. I was going to tell you about it but, since I was so red with anger, I was enjoying your torture of clothing discomfort." Catherine confessed before slamming the trunk shut.

"I kind of figured. You're not a hard one to read Willows."

Catherine smirked as Officer Reynolds drove past them, nodding at the CSI's once more before continuing on down the road back out to the highway. They were officially the last people out at Lake Mead at four in the morning. Catherine put an arm on Sara's shoulder, gently squeezing it as the brunette looked at her, dry mud still caked on her forehead from her tumble down the cliff side, a tumble that actually had her scared she would never get a chance to apologize to Sara for acting the way she was.

"You are however, not getting in my truck all covered in mud."

Sara rose an eyebrow, knowing that there was something else hidden behind those words her fiancée just spoke. Before she could even react Catherine's lips were pressed against hers, her tongue finding its familiar path between her lips and into her mouth as Sara could not help but moan. She wrapped her hands around Catherine, running her fingers through her hair as she pressed her body against the side of the Tahoe, deepening the kiss.

There was no chance they would be caught, no chance for interruptions from either co-workers or strangers alike. They were not expected back at the lab and what better way to begin a brand new day than to have some frisky, playful fun in a vehicle before work. Catherine, without breaking her lips away, used one of her hands and grabbed the door handle behind her, opening the back door to her Tahoe and inviting them inside to continue this in a more, traditional, location.

Sara could care less as she let go of Catherine, stripping off her jacket and shirt, leaving her standing in the middle of a dirt road in her bra and mud covered pants. Catherine sat on the edge of the seat as she grabbed Sara by the waist band of her pants, pulling her in closer. She unclipped her gun and radio, tossing them on the front seat along with the jumper Sara grabbed to change into from the trunk. She then made quick work of undoing her dress pants, watching them fall from Sara's waist and pool at her mud covered feet. She was gorgeous, perfectly sculpted as her angled hips fit into the palms of her hands, her fingers able to grasp her supple ass and squeeze it gently, something she knew got Sara excited.

That was when Catherine realized she was over dressed for this occasion and tossed her jacket and top, leaving her large, supple breasts suspended in a black lace bra out on display for Sara to fondle. Sara licked her lips, biting her lower one slightly as her loins began to stir with passion and sex. She gently pushed Catherine down onto the bench seat of the Tahoe, climbing on top of her, and leaving her muddy boots and pants out on the dirt path. She kissed Catherine again, hard on the lips and then made a trail down her neck, nipping her collar bone slightly and feeling her finance stir beneath in anticipation. Her hands roamed over her chest, cupping her breasts slightly as she watched her abdomen ebb and flow with each deep breath she took.

"God Sara, you feel good." Catherine moaned, her eyes closed as colours, bright, vibrant pastels shot across her eyes at Sara's nimble touch.

"Shh, don't speak." She whispered in Catherine's ear as Catherine moaned, her heart beat quickening as her vagina dampened knowing what's to come.

Sara unclasped her bra, tossing it on the floor of the Tahoe as she guided Catherine's hands to her erect nipples, allowing her to cup and fondle them blindly as she sucked on Catherine's, feeling them go hard in her mouth. She tried to stay focused as she kept her lips wandering further down Catherine's body, over her C-Section scar from giving birth to Lindsey, the only person in the world Catherine loved more than her. Her lips finally made it to her panty line as Catherine ran her hands down Sara's back, scraping her long nails across the skin playfully, seductively.

"I need you Sara, I need you so bad." Catherine muttered as Sara grabbed the band to Catherine's panties and pulled them down to reveal her perfectly groomed vagina awaiting Sara's thick tongue and nimble fingers.

"I love you Catherine," Sara stated right before she plunged her index and middle finger inside of Catherine, fondling her clitoris as Catherine shook with passion beneath her.

Catherine screamed, unable to keep it contained any longer as Sara worked her fingers quickly, knowing the exact spots to hit to get her to cum. She slowed down as she buried her head between Catherine's thighs, her tongue licking the inside of her thighs and gradually moving towards her vagina, hitting that sweet spot that was going to push her over the edge. Moments later it happened, an explosion of warmth and love filled Sara's mouth and Catherine's body as she shook with release. All the anger, tension, disappointment she had for Sara was gone, wiped away like words on a chalkboard and replaced with happiness and passion. She didn't care about what happened two days ago, what mattered was the fact that they loved each other, could please each other and wanted to be together; no matter what.

Sara looked up, wiping her lips with a glint of satisfaction and accomplishment in pleasing her mate. Catherine cupped Sara's face, feeling flushed and sweaty as if she had just run a marathon. Sara enjoyed the caressing motions of Catherine as she got back up on top of her lover, feeling her heart racing from the exertion of the events that just took place. Catherine quickly slid out from the bottom as Sara took her place, allowing her body to go limp and have Catherine do whatever she wanted to her.

The blonde, older woman who still looked beautiful, even in the cramped space of a Tahoe and a large bruise on her forehead was the only woman Sara ever wanted to go down on her in the middle of a work day at a crime scene. She was amazing, intelligent, strong and above all stubborn but that did not change a single thing about their relationship now or where it was heading within the next six months.

Catherine began to work her way day Sara's body, her fingers grazing her curves, feeling the sculpted goddess that was offering herself to her. Sara was what she had been looking for before she stumbled into Vegas to put her nose where it shouldn't have belonged. Them clashing at first blossomed into a beautiful relationship that Catherine would never trade for anything. Yes, sometimes the brunette was stubborn and naive, especially when it came to being intimate with another woman but, Catherine needed to remember that there was ten years between them. The age gap did not bother them at all in the bedroom, or in public but, sometimes that much of a gap could lead to miscommunication and misrepresentations of the importance of certain relationship milestones. She still wanted to marry her, to be with her, teach her and learn with her but, sometimes Catherine realized she was going to have to be more patient than others.

Sara moaned as her lover's tongue entered her, lapping against her warm, wet vagina her legs trembling with passion. It was amazing what a little tongue and finger action could do to someone libido as Catherine, being an ex-exotic dancer, still had a few tricks up her sleeve on ways to get Sara off in a hurry. Today was no exception as she exploded at the fast flickering of her tongue against her G-spot, it almost felt like a mini vibrator at how fast Catherine was going. It was her signature move and it made Sara explode over the edge every time.

"God, that was amazing." Sara sighed, prospering herself up on her elbows as Catherine licked her lips and smiled.

"I'm sorry for how I've been acting Sara. I shouldn't have been son childish." Catherine confessed.

Sara was taken aback by the truth bomb that was just dropped. She knew that sex was a cure for many things and make up sex was, as everyone keeps saying, the best type but, she did not know it also came with a vial of truth serum. She sat up and slid over, allowing Catherine to hop up and sit beside her in the back seat, snuggled into the crook of her arm.

"Sex really is magic isn't it?" Sara quipped as Catherine carefully punched her in the arm, "Owe, okay, I surrender, I'm sorry too. I feel horrible for missing our Anniversary, it was an honest mistake."

Catherine smiled, feeling like she had won some sort of battle. "Much better, and I know, I shouldn't have gotten so worked up over it. I mean, when I saw you fall today on the cliff, I-I was scared."

"Ah, so now the truth comes out."

"Watch it Sidle, I can still take my apology back." Catherine playfully snapped.

Sara grabbed Catherine's hand, entwining their fingers and looking at the silver wedding bands they were both wearing signaling their engagement and eventual marriage in the next six months. That silver band meant more to them just getting hitched, it was a symbol of their eternity together.

"I don't want you to be worried about me baby. I don't want us to fight, or be mad at each other either. All I want is for us to keep having the same type of relationship we've had since the beginning; one full of life, passion and happiness. I know our Anniversary means a lot to you and to make it up to you, I want us to celebrate this weekend at Lake Mead, in the exact same place I proposed to you." Sara stated and smiled, seeing a tear glint in Catherine's eye.

"That sounds perfect Sara. You know exactly what to do to get a woman's heart."

Sara kissed her, letting her lips linger for a moment before smiling, "I did learn from the best." She quipped before bringing her in for another kiss.

* * *

Fin


End file.
